Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Shares Bought by Ghe LLC

Ghe LLC raised its holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 0.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 21,065 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 153 shares during the quarter. Paychex accounts for about 1.5% of Ghe LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Ghe LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $2,509,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Griffin Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Paychex by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Griffin Asset Management Inc. now owns 18,225 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,171,000 after buying an additional 88 shares during the period. Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. raised its holdings in Paychex by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. now owns 4,003 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $472,000 after buying an additional 91 shares during the period. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Paychex by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,908 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $227,000 after buying an additional 92 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Paychex by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,852 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $329,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the period. Finally, Marino Stram & Associates LLC increased its holdings in shares of Paychex by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Marino Stram & Associates LLC now owns 5,789 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $690,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the period. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of PAYX traded up $0.90 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $122.52. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,804,414 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,817,160. Paychex, Inc. has a one year low of $104.09 and a one year high of $129.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.10 billion, a PE ratio of 26.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.93. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $122.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $120.35.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 2nd. The business services provider reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.46 billion. Paychex had a return on equity of 46.14% and a net margin of 31.86%. Paychex’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.29 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.71 EPS for the current year.

Paychex declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Friday, January 19th that authorizes the company to buyback $400.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the business services provider to repurchase up to 0.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Paychex

In related news, VP Mark Anthony Bottini sold 15,481 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.53, for a total value of $1,865,924.93. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 82,690 shares in the company, valued at $9,966,625.70. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 11.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on PAYX shares. Citigroup dropped their target price on Paychex from $130.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 26th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $130.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. TD Cowen dropped their target price on Paychex from $122.00 to $121.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $115.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on Paychex from $108.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $123.00.

Paychex Profile

Paychex, Inc provides integrated human capital management solutions for human resources (HR), payroll, benefits, and insurance services for small to medium-sized businesses in the United States, Europe, and India. It offers payroll processing services; payroll tax administration services; employee payment services; and regulatory compliance services, such as new-hire reporting and garnishment processing.